The Silent Killer
by TsoLan
Summary: The Doctor and Clara arrive in modern day Los Angeles for a much needed holiday. However, they aren't the only ones and before long, the Doctor finds himself face to face with Mickey and Martha. The friends decide to spend their holiday together, but when the Doctor goes Scuba Diving, he discovers one of his worst enemies lying abandoned under the ocean...but is it really dead?
1. The Voice

**Chapter 1**

"Behold...Los Angeles...amazing!" the Doctor exclaimed as he threw open the Tardis doors.

"What's amazing?" Clara asked, emerging behind him.

"We're actually in the right place!" The Doctor seemed genuinely surprised. Clara giggled and shut the doors of the Tardis behind her. "Yeah. You didn't land on a nuclear submarine by accident this time. Well done Doctor."

"Mind you" the Doctor said, looking around the dustbin filled alleyway with distaste "I was aiming for the slightly more uptown area...still, the date is right. July 2013."

"Is it me or is it really hot?" Clara observed. She was wearing a short skirt and red tank top, equipped with designer sunglasses and flip flops. "You're going to be wearing all that gear anyway I suppose?" she added, looking at the unfashionable dark suit the Doctor loved to wear.

"Course. It's only a hundred and two Fahrenheit. Anyway, this is Los Angeles, Oswald! I'm sure I'll meet some fellow bow-tie enthusiasts around here!"

Clara smiled. "Don't hold your breath, sweetheart!" she teased. "Anyway, can we go and do something? How about lunch?"

"Oh yes, I know a place. It's just a few blocks away I think. I went there for a meal with Leela. Wasn't really her thing, but then again I don't suppose fine dining is would be a savage's preference...anyway, let's go." with that, the Doctor linked arms with Clara and the two of them set off down the road.

/

Ten minutes later, the Doctor and Clara were stood outside a small street side diner. The Doctor smiled warmly at the sight of it. Clara looked up in disappointment. "You class this as fine dining?" she sighed.

"Oi, gorgeous!" came a loud American voice from behind the Doctor and Clara. They both wheeled around to see a unwashed and completely drunk homeless person clutching a bottle of drink. He was calling out to Clara. The Doctor gazed at the man deep in thought. He knew that voice from somewhere, and he recognized the face, partially hidden under wild beard. With a gasp, he realized who it was.

"Hey babe!" Henry Van Statten drawled as he limped over to a revolted Clara. "Whass' a chick like you doing with a punk like this?" he asked, pointing at the Doctor.

The Doctor smiled sadly. "Go away. You deserved everything you got after what you did in Utah. Though I must say I'm impressed you made it all the way to Los Angeles, given you're current state."

Van Statten spat at the floor in front of the Doctor. "Henry?" he asked "Thass' my name is it? Oh...anyway, so long suckers!" he walked away chuckling manically to himself.

Clara rounded on the Doctor "You know that guy?"

"We've met." the Doctor said shortly. "Anyway, let's eat." with that, he went into the diner. Clara followed suite. She was just about to go through the door and into the restaurant. And then she heard it.

_"come to me...rescue me...rescue...res...res..."_

"What?" Clara exclaimed. She was sure that someone had spoken. It was very faint and quiet, but just for a second, she was sure she had heard someone speak. it had only been there for a second before faltering and dying away. It sounded extremely weak and croaky but at the same time, almost metallic. It was like no voice she'd ever heard. It didn't seem to be coming from anywhere in particular. She looked around her. The rest of the street was carrying on it's daily business. It didn't look as if any of them had heard it.

The Doctor came back outside. "What's wrong, Clara?" he asked with concern, looking at the girl's frightened expression.

Clara hesitated. "Nothing...just the wind playing tricks on me!"

The Doctor stared at her. "There's no wind..."

"Wonderful! Love the hot weather! let's eat!" Clara smiled, pushing past the Doctor and into the diner. The Doctor stared at her in bemusement, but shrugged and went in after her.


	2. Beach Trouble

**Chapter 2**

"Hmm..." The Doctor said thoughtfully, examining his hamburger. "Could be beef, could be goat...I think it's both. It's tasty, whatever it is."

Clara stared at him incredulously "Okay, so you found seven million dollars in your wardrobe. We had every restaurant in Los Angeles to pick from, and you brought me here. Great."

The Doctor chuckled. "Nobody likes a snob, Clara. Terrifying food is an integral part to a good holiday! I remember being given grilled Clom meat when I went to Raxacoricofallapatorius for a break. That was the high life."

Clara bit into her burger cautiously. Fortunately, her inferior human senses weren't able to sense the horrific hidden qualities of the meat and she was surprised to find herself enjoying it. "So what shall we do once we're done?" she asked between bites.

"Well, I'm going to the beach." said the Doctor. "There's over a million different types of sand on there, and apparently some of it's of alien origin. I'm going to try and find some proof."

Clara smiled. "Okay. Well, why you do that, I'll be sitting on my sunbed, soaking up the rays and making sure you don't go wandering off into the sea by accident. Deal?"

"Deal."

/

An hour later, the two friends were on the warm yet breezy beach sitting on a picnic blanket. The Doctor was busy piling sand into a gigantic jar and sifting feverishly through it. Naturally people were staring.

"Did you really have to bring fifty jars down here Doctor?" Clara sighed, her eyes closed against the glare of the sun.

"What?" asked the Doctor, immersed in his research.

"Oh never mind."

Fifteen minutes past in silence until finally the Doctor had filled all of his jars. "Right, I'm just going to pop back to the Tardis. Still got two hundred jars to fill."

"Great." murmured a sleepy Clara.

Clara laid back and smiled. This was what travelling was about, she thought to herself. No monsters, no ghosts and nobody trying to kill her...she drifted in and out of consciousness, wondering distantly if she should get away from the sun soon. Not yet though...she was too tired.

_"Assistance...required...help...help...HELP!"_

Clara jerked awake instantly. There could be no doubt about it. That _was_ a voice. And judging by the fact that nobody else on the crowded beach had reacted, only she could hear it.

It took a moment for her to register the handsome, black young man standing beside her sunbed, looking down at her. He had a buzz cut and a pierced ear.

"Sorry love." he said. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't...anyway, can I help you?" Clara asked. She noticed his English accent.

The man nodded. "I wonder if you know the number for a pizza delivery. Me and the missus are pretty hungry." he stared at Clara for a moment. "You from London as well?" he asked.

"Yeah. I came here on holiday with a friend. Hey listen, if you wait I bet he'll know the number. He knows pretty much everything."

The man laughed. "What, that dude in the bow-tie, collecting sand samples? I saw him over here earlier." Clara giggled and nodded. "Yeah. He's pretty weird, but he's the best guy I know. Not my boyfriend though! Before you ask! Definetley not. Just a great friend."

"I used to have a friend like that. He was brilliant. I mean, I hated him at first, but then he changed. Became proper nice. I mean, he was a complete freak don't get me wrong, but he was great. Haven't seen him recently. Anyway, I'll be off I think. Don't want the woman to get the wrong idea!"

Clara smiled. "Probably a good idea. I'm Clara, by the way."

"Mickey Smith. Great to meet you." the man replied. With that, he strolled away.

/

It took the Doctor half an hour to return, by which time Clara was getting bored of the beach. And she was worried. That voice...it seemed to helpless but at the same time it seemed so terrifying. Monstrous.

"All right, Clara?" The Doctor asked, dragging a gigantic sack along with him.

"Yeah...listen I need to tell you something. I've been hearing this voice."

The Doctor gazed at Clara. "Well that's not normal is it? Why didn't you tell me straight away?"

"Because I wasn't sure if it was the wind or something! Listen, I was asleep and I heard it! First time was just outside the diner. Second was right here. I heard it and woke up. It's like someone calling for help. Nobody else heard it. There was this guy who was standing over me, but all he wanted to talk about was pizza! He didn't hear anything."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Could have been something to do with him. Maybe he's an alien who just acted innocent when you woke up! Anything's possible. Did he seem strange in any way?"

"Er...yes, he was English. From London. Bit of a coincidence I thought."

"Right, and what else?"

"Black, average height, short hair. Looked completely normal."

"Right...well, if we can track this guy down. I just want to be sure."

Clara stared at the Doctor impatiently. "Doctor, it was nothing to do with him! Why can I hear this voice? I'm pretty sure that it was just a normal guy I saw, nothing to do with the voice I've been hearing."

The Doctor ignored her. "Clara, it's vital that I see this man for myself. He's probably some harmless guy who'll be terrified when I go and start sonicking him. But it's a bit weird don't you think? He just happens to be there when you hear a dodgy voice? Come, come."

"He went this way." Clara said. With that her and the Doctor set off across the beach...

**Hope people like this. Leave a review :D**


	3. An Eventful Breakfast

**Chapter 3**

"So, if we catch up with him, what are you going to do? Ask him if he's an alien?" asked Clara, as she and the Doctor hurried along the beach.

"Yeah. Small talk is for mortals, Oswald. I get down to business." the Doctor declared.

"Right..."

"Focus on the task, Clara! We need to find this guy!"

Clara sighed deeply. Look...huge beach. Thousands of people here...millions in the city as a whole. How are we going to find him? I'm sure he was just a random guy."

"Yes, well, I was sure that the Devil didn't exist and that didn't turn out to be right." the Doctor replied.

Clara's eyes narrowed. "The _Devil _exists_?" _she exclaimed incredulously.

"Not any more! Ha ha!"

The Doctor made them search the beach for another hour before admitting defeat. For her part, Clara hadn't heard the voice again and was feeling incredibly tired. The two of them headed back to the Tardis glumly.

"Why can't we stay in your friend's Hollywood penthouse?" Clara moaned.

"Because the last time I stayed at Captain Jack's house, we had Shamboni debt collectors knocking on the door at two in the morning! Never again!" The Doctor shuddered.

They turned a corner, and headed down the street where the Tardis was stood. "Let's face it..." the Doctor said. "Today's been a bit of a strange way to start a holiday."

"Well, I don't know why I expected any different. Every day with you is a little bit strange." Clara muttered, yawning.

The Doctor laughed, and opened the Tardis doors. "Define normal, Oswald."

A slightly drunk man with a pair of red sunglasses suddenly charged towards them, waving some sort of antique instrument in a threatening manner. "You been leaving them stank ass turds on my property?" he demanded, brandishing his weapon.

"Well of course not." the Doctor snapped, placing himself between Clara and the drunk man. "Hold on a second..." he licked his finger and placed in in the air. "Foxes! There's a few in the neighborhood. They'll be the culprits my friend, not us."

"Oh...right..." the drunk muttered. "Well, I gotta shotgun for them fools. Anyways..." with that, he stumbled off.

Clara stared at the Doctor in disbelief. "Unbelievable!"

The Doctor shrugged. "We're in Los Angeles. Weird stuff happens here. Why do you think I like it so much?"

/

The next morning, Clara woke up with a start in her Tardis bedroom. She heaved herself out of bed, and headed down the corridor, into the lift, along the causeway and up the staircase, to the shower room. Twenty minutes later, she walked into the console room, to find the Doctor wide awake and fiddling with an lever on the console.  
"All right?" she yawned.

"Hmm?"

"Never mind." She walked over to the scanner, where the British news was playing. "And for today's final story, fans all over the country have been delighted at the discovery of nine classic episodes of Professor What, thought lost forever." Clara switched the news off. "Breakfast?"

"Yes. Food machine's playing up a bit. Let's go to-"

"McDonalds!" Clara announced. "It does a good breakfast.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows doubtfully, but couldn't be bothered to argue. He'd spend the entire night analyzing sand samples and wasn't in the mood to do much.

/

Ten minutes later, they were sitting in the shabby McDonald's restaurant eating a pair of sausage baps. "Nice..." muttered the Doctor, once again examining the contents of his meal. All around, people were staring.

"Doctor!" Clara hissed.

The Doctor ignored her, clearly deep in thought. "You know, if I could get hold of some soap, I could test the Beuron's Neurotoxilogical viacity of the meat. Hold on." He rummaged through his pocket. "No, can't find any. I'll just pop to the gents." he hopped up and wandered merrily to the toilets. Clara shook her head in disbelief, and returned to her meal.

"We meet again." said a voice behind her. Clara looked round in alarm, and there he was. The man from the beach. Mickey something or other. Clara smiled nervously at him. She didn't really think he was a threat, but she knew that for all his weirdness, the Doctor's judgments were often sound.

"Yeah...what a coincidence!" Clara said cautiously. Mickey laughed. A young, black woman came over to join them. She was quite good looking, thought Clara, and obviously cared for her body. She had an athlete's build...or a soldier's, come to think of it.

"Hi, I'm Martha. You two know each other?" she asked.

"Nah, babe, just met on the beach yesterday. She was with that freaky dude I told you about." Mickey replied.

Clara looked over Mickey's shoulder, to see the Doctor coming out of the bathroom. "Keep your voice down. He's coming back." she whispered.

The Doctor strolled right past Mickey and Martha, not even glancing at them and took his seat, opposite to Clara. "No soap! Would you believe it?"

"Yeah, listen...Doctor, this is the man I met on the beach yesterday." Clara said nervously, cautious of what the Doctor was going to start doing to the man.

The Doctor finally looked up at Mickey and Martha. His mouth dropped open in disbelief. For a whole three seconds he just sat there gaping at them, before giggling nervously.

"Oh my goodness!" he exclaimed, "Hello!"

"Hey, mate." Mickey said, trying not to laugh.

"I don't mean to be rude..." Martha said. "But do we know you?"

"Oh yes." the Doctor said, rubbing his hands together and grinning broadly. "Yes you do..."

**Note: My hard drive is making some strange noises so if I don't update this for a while, it'll be because my computer has decided to die. **


	4. The Reunion

**Chapter 4**

"Look, mate, this is all a bit creepy. Who are you?" Mickey asked the Doctor impatiently.

The Doctor's insane smile widened. "Guess." he said, smoothing down his bow-tie.

Martha stared at him "I've met some weird men in my time..."

Clara's patience wore off "Oh for goodness sake. This is the Doctor, I'm Clara. I don't even know who you two are, so don't ask me why he's behaving like this."

"Clara!" the Doctor hissed "You're ruining my dramatic reveal!"

It took a few moments for the Smith's to register what Clara had said. "Doctor..." Martha began. "_The_ Doctor?

The Doctor sighed. "Yes, it's me. Hello Martha Jones. Hello Mickey Smith." he smiled at them both, overwhelmed with glee. Here was two faces he never expected to see again.

Martha looked at him uncertainly but Mickey threw back his head and laughed. "You've changed again then?" he asked, holding out his hand.

The Doctor took Mickey's hand and shook it vigorously. "I had a bit of an accident...involving an old man and some radiation. So yes, I had to change again. It was years ago now. I haven't seen you in over two hundred years guys! How long is it for you?"

"Getting on for four years." Mickey replied. "When you knocked out that Sontaran for us."

"Hmm, yeah. That was literally a few hours before I regenerated. So what do you think?" the Docotr asked, patting himself on the chest.

"You're a bit different from the angry guy in leather who stole my girlfriend." Mickey laughed, deep in nostalgia. He couldn't believe that this man - the eccentric, friendly and youthful man in front of him - was the same person that he'd encountered all those years ago. There was no comparison.

Martha was still uncertain. "Mickey!" she snapped "How can we be sure this is him? I mean, I knew Time-Lords could change like this, but even so."

The Doctor looked down at Martha. "I can take you to the Tardis if you want. We could go see Shakespeare. Old or New New York? Ringing any bells?"

"Course it's him, babe." Mickey said. "Who else could a guy like this be? We should of known straight away."

"Come on Martha Jones!" The Doctor teased. "Ricky knows it's me, and you do as well."

Martha nodded and embraced the Doctor. "Hey." she said weakly. "Um...you look nice."

The Doctor laughed. "Tardis?" he asked. "I won't take us anywhere, I promise."

/

"Wow." Martha said, looking at the exterior of the Tardis. "You've refurbished it."

"What's with the circle?" Mickey asked pointing at the St John's Ambulance logo on the door.

"I'm very fond of the circle." the Doctor said sternly. "Do you have a problem with the circle?"

"No...anyway, let's take a look inside!" Mickey exclaimed.

The Doctor smiled mischievously. "I've done a bit of work in there as well. Nothing major."

With that, he opened the Tardis and the four friends walked into the eerie blue console room.

"Nothing major..." Martha repeated weakly, staring around the console room.

"Bit less yellow." The Doctor said, rubbing his hands together. "But it's the same Tardis. Same place you remembered.

"I kind of like it you know boss. Mickey said. "It's a bit more flashy and a bit less dirty."

"Well...what happens now?" Clara asked them all.

"Hey, listen man, we're here on holiday." Mickey said, looking over the complicated console.

"Please don't whisk us off to Utopia or Zog or anywhere." Martha said. "We came here for a break. Working at UNIT can be really tiring."

The Doctor chuckled. "Me and Clara are here for a holiday as well. And incidentally, Utopia was sucked into a black hole and Zog is currently in a state of civil war. Let's stay here! There's a fez shop somewhere in this city, you know! And a great suit shop. I need a green bow-tie."

"Just to clarify..." Clara said. "He goes off and looks for bow-ties and alien sand. I do all the normal things people do on holiday." Mickey and Martha laughed.

"Why don't we all meet up tomorrow?" the Doctor said enthusiastically. "Go on a day trip together or something."

Mickey and Martha stared at each other. "Can you promise that the next apocalypse won't occur if we go out on a day trip with you?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor smiled broadly. "No."

"Well then, that's good enough for me." Martha said. "Tomorrow, eleven in the morning? But Doctor, don't wear your suit. It's forecast to be over a hundred degrees tomorrow."

"I invented the sun." the Doctor retorted. "I'm not scared of a bit of heat."

/

An hour later, the Doctor and Clara were laying on the beach. The hot sun shone down on them, warming their skin. "That was unexpected." The Doctor said fondly.

"Yeah." Clara said. "I can't believe I actually spoke to that guy and now suddenly it turns out he's an old mate of your's. What a coincidence."

"Yeah..." The Doctor replied thoughtfully. "_What_ a coincidence..."

And then she heard it.

_"You...can...hear me. You will come...assist me...I must kill! I MUST KILL!"_

Clara let out a small shriek. The Doctor looked round at her, alarmed. "What is it?" he asked.

Clara regained her composure. "It was that voice. It...it wants to kill. But I can't. Doctor, it actually spoke to me directly! It wants help..."

"Well." The Doctor said peering into the depths of Clara's round, beautiful eyes "I think we should tell Mickey and Martha about this. I think we might need UNIT down here..."

**Note: Sorry for the delay. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know :~D**


	5. The Eccentric Doctor Who

**Chapter 5**

"So tell me..." Clara said to the Doctor the next day. "Why do you want UNIT here? You never want UNIT involved."

"Well, I'm on holiday." said the Doctor. "I could sort you out myself of course. But frankly, we agreed that neither or us would do any alien bashing, and I shall stick to that promise. UNIT are good, despite their love of violence."

They were in the Tardis kitchen, situated about a mile from the control room. The Doctor had fixed the food machine and the two of them were tucking into a healthy breakfast of what looked and tasted like bacon and eggs. It was actually artificial protein that the food machine dished out. Clara loved it. She could eat a burger for breakfast, lunch and dinner and get more nutrition from each meal than if she were eating a plate full of vegetables.

"So we're going to meet Mickey and Martha today, yeah?" asked Clara.

"Yes. I've phoned UNIT HQ already though. The Los Angeles branch will get in touch. They er...they might want to examine you."

Clara narrowed her eyes. "Examine me? In what way?"

"Nothing serious. Just some electromagnetic polarity shock samples, some neutron cell extractions...you'll be fine."

"Yeah. Thanks for that... you've really made me feel better about it."

"No problem" The Doctor said cheerfully, not noticing the sarcasm.

There was a knock on the Tardis door. "Ah! Friends!" the Doctor exclaimed. He danced his way around the console and rushed to the door, pulling it open. "Morning!" Martha said cheerfully. "Smith and Smith! I think we're ready, aren't we Clara?"

"Yup. Let's do it. Where are we even going though?"

"Walk along the beach first?" Mickey suggested. "Then out for lunch?"

"Good idea." The Doctor ruffled his already manic hair and smoothed his bow-tie. "Right, I look presentable. Let's go."

/

"So let me get this straight." Mickey said "Your mate has been hearing a voice?"

The four friends were enjoying a walk along the pier. The day was insanely hot, but the Pacific breeze cooled them down slightly. All around them, half naked people were eating ice cream and riding bikes. Food vendors were shouting out for custom and brightly coloured food stalls were on either side. At the far end, the screams from the fairground could be heard.

"Yeah." the Doctor said. "I'm taking her to UNIT HQ here tomorrow. Just to be safe."

"Well yeah." Mickey stared uncertainly at Clara, who was walking ahead with Martha. The two of them were chatting, and the Doctor has an uneasy feeling that the conversation was about him. "The base is hidden in the Hollywood Hills. Very well hidden. It's run by a pretty new recruit called Kylie Gregson. Decent girl by all accounts."

"Yes, well it's hopefully nothing to worry about. But we were rather hoping to have an alien free holiday." the Doctor said.

"Same here." Mickey laughed. "But we ran into you. Well, if we had to meet an alien on holiday, I guess I'm glad it were you. Despite the fact you usually mean trouble."

The Doctor chucked. "Trouble is one of my middle names, Mickey Smith. Literally."

/

"So..." Clara said to Martha. "How long were you with the Doctor?"

"Not long. About a year, Earth time perhaps. But I've met him a few times since."

"Is it true that he used to look different? He's shown me all these photos of guys he says is him, but-"

"Oh yeah, he was different. He changes his face." Martha lowered her voice. "He was a bit more handsome when I knew him." Clara giggled and looked over her shoulder at the Doctor. The Doctor frowned, knowing he was being discussed.

"He wore a nice coat and suit as well." Martha reminisced.

Clara laughed again. "I wish I met him earlier!" she joked.

Martha smiled. "He was so different to this."

"Don't get me wrong, I love this him to bits." Clara said. "Not in a romantic way!" she added hastily.

"I know. Besides, he's already in a very loving relationship with the Tardis. No room for a third!"

They were both laughing now. The Doctor shook his head in mock annoyance. "Missus and the ex _again_ Doc?" Mickey teased.

"Yes. It really is every man's worst nightmare." the Doctor reflected. "Still, at least they are getting on a bit better than Sarah and Rose."

Mickey nodded. "I don't suppose you hear from Rose at all, do you?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"Well, no. I can't. But she was pretty happy when I left her. She had the meta-crisis version of me with her now, so..."The Doctor broke off and gasped aloud, reading a sign that was a little further along the pier. "Look!" he said, pointing at a sign posted on the wall of a cafe. "Scuba diving!"

Martha and Clara turned around. "Doctor." Clara moaned. "Have you seen the price? Besides, it's a half hour wait for the next boat."

"I did bring some money." the Doctor said affronted. "I'm not stupid enough to come here without money, Oswald."

"Mate, has anyone ever taught you about budget?" Mickey said, exasperated.

"Well, I have seven million dollars on me. I wasn't sure quite how much we'd need. Anyway, you lot don't have to come if you're scared. But I'm going diving. Race you to the queue!" with that, he went galloping away down the pier as fast as he could.

"He's going senile!" Martha exclaimed. "He's always been a bit mad, but he's actually lost his head!"

"This is what I have to live with!" Clara remarked. "Still...I think he's probably got enough money, so he might as well enjoy himself."

"I'll sit out though!" said Martha.

"Yeah, I ain't scuba diving." Mickey laughed. "I've done enough of that working for UNIT."

"I think I'll give it a miss as well." Clara said. "He'll be all right, as long as he doesn't get lost looking for alien coral or anything..."

"You all right?" Mickey asked. "You seem worried."

"I'm fine." Clara said. She didn't know why, but for some reason she had a very bad feeling about this...

**Note: With regards to the whole Tardis thing, I know that the Doctor is in love with River, but the characters wouldn't know this. (This is set before TNOTD.)**

**Reveal happening in the next chapter.**


	6. The Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea

**Chapter 6**

"So..." the Doctor asked the man next to him. "You do this stuff often?"

"Nah, homie. This is my second time." he replied. He was a large man, overweight but not exactly fat. He appeared slightly nervous about what he was about to do. Him and the Doctor were sitting on the boat, dressed in their scuba-diving suits. The boat contained fifteen other divers, as well as the driver at the front. They was nearly at the diving point.

"Thing about water is that it's just so...wet." the Doctor reflected.

"Yup." the man grunted, clearly wishing to be left alone.

"I mean, I would be scared, but I'm used to danger." the Doctor said happily.

"Oh right...hey, you see that giant radio thing over on the cliff?" the man said, pointing to the mainland where, a gigantic radio telescope "I work there." he said, in a desperate attempt to steer the conversation onto some normal ground.

"You know, I fell off of one of those once!" the Doctor said.

"Really?" the man replied, his hopes of a normal conversation instantly dashed.

"Yes, really."

The man was at a loss for words. "You were all right then?"

"Well I thought I was, but on removing my hat, I discovered that I had fractured my skull."

"Okay...all better now then?"

"Oh yes." the Doctor said cheerfully. "Nothing like a good hit of regeneration energy to fix you up! It's a shame it hurts so much, because it really feels rather nice at the same time. I felt twenty years younger afterwards. Mind you, I suppose in terms of the age of that particular body, that's probably quite accurate. Hopefully I'll be young again next time round, eh!"

"I'll have my fingers crossed" the Doctor's poor victim said weakly. "Anyway...um...I'm gunna go have a word with the um...the driver. See you round."

"Okay, well thanks for the chat!" the Doctor said cheerfully as the man hurried off. "And remember to breathe when we go down there! There isn't much air!"

/

A quarter of an hour later, a man at the front of the boat stood up to speak to the divers. "I'm Bob, your instructor." he announced. "I want you all to check that your equipment is working, and that there are no holes in the mask or the oxygen tank or anything like that."

They obliged, checking their equipment for any problems. "Mine's all clear!" the Doctor called out.

Once it was established that everyone was safe, they were off. "Remember dudes. It's the Pacific Ocean. You see anything that looks dangerous, let us know. You'll all be connected to us on intercom, and if anything nasty is down there, you have to let us know. If we say evacuate, do it instantly. Clear?"

"It's not really clear at all." the Doctor said. "When you say dangerous, do you mean sharks?"

"Yeah. Or other nasty creatures. It's highly unlikely, but not impossible, you know what I'm saying?" Bob said

"Thing with sharks, you often just need to tickle them a bit and they'll like you. I learned it on Vespucci seabas-

"Do as we say, or you ain't going in at all." Bob replied.

"Yes, fine, good point." the Doctor said. "May we go?"

Bob nodded. "All right. Remember, any trouble with the equipment, come straight to the surface. Otherwise, go have some fun down there. Just don't go too far from the boat."

They dived.

/

It was beautiful. That's all the Doctor could think. He'd seen so, so many beautiful worlds in his years travelling the stars, but the ocean really did have a unique, wonderful quality to it. There were various colored flowers and coral growing all across the ocean bed. There were fish, some big some small, swimming around in the distance, avoiding the divers, but staying close enough to be seen clearly. The Doctor smiled to himself, and kicked out with his flippers. One of the other divers, swimming a few yards away gave him the peace sign. Confused, the Doctor returned it. He had enough trouble understanding Clara's English slang and cultural references, but America's was even harder! Shrugging, he swam away, further into the waters. He saw a strange, fluorescent plant on the ocean bed, a few feet away from him. He smiled. "Sample time!" he said happily to himself. "Alien plants!"

"What in tarnation you on about?" came an American drawl in his ear. The Doctor jumped out of his skin.

"Bob!" he whispered over the intercom. "Don't do that, man!"

Bob just laughed. The Doctor shook his head in frustration and swam downwards to collect his samples.

/

"You reckon he's having fun?" Clara asked Mickey and Martha.

"Probably." Mickey said. "It's keeping him out of trouble for an hour or so, so that's something to be thankful for."

"Hmm..." Clara replied. The three of them were sitting on a bench on the pier, drinking ice cold cola's and looking out across the Pacific. "So, you're both in some sort of army now?"

"UNIT." Martha said. "Unified Intelligence Task-force. It's a great job. We've been everywhere, you know. Qatar, Greenland, Angola, Myanmar, Tibet...we get to travel all over the world. It's like being with the Doctor, but not in space and not quite as crazy."

Clara smiled "And what, you...do you _kill_ aliens?"

"Nah, babe." Mickey said. "Used to be how they did things, but we don't do that anymore. Most are friendly. We help them get back home. And we only shoot hostiles if they make the first move."

Clara shrugged "Fair enough, then. So, does the Doctor approve? I mean, I know he used to hang around with UNIT a lot, but did he want to turn you both into soldiers?"

Martha noticed the bitterness in Clara's voice and the worry, perhaps, that she herself would one day end up like Mickey and Martha. She didn't want to be a soldier! "It's not that." Martha said. "But sometimes the Doctor isn't here when we need him to be. That's why we joined. So we could save the world without him."

Clara cheered up. She knew she was being unreasonable. "Yeah...I know. So, is it just UNIT who does this?"

"Well, there was a little group in Cardiff who helped out from time to time, but they went quiet."

"Oh right..." Clara gazed out across the water. "I wonder what he's doing down there..." she felt uneasy. She couldn't explain nor understand why. But something was wrong. She knew it.

/

The Doctor cheerfully hovered above the coral, collecting the leaves of plants he was sure were of alien origin. It made him smile to think that alien life had always been right in front of humanity's eyes, yet they still couldn't see it! He laughed aloud. How could they look at an octopus and say that they originated from Earth? It defied belief!

"Fifteen minutes left." a voice in his ear came. The Doctor ignored it. He was feeling rather tired. The wet-suit was restrictive and the swimming, even with the flippers, had tired him out. He was grateful to see a large vine protruding from the exotic reef, standing vertically up a few feet away. Gratefully he swam over to grab hold of it. He'd just hover for a little while, he thought to himself. He hovered there, clutching the vine. He looked ahead of him. The other divers were casually swimming around, gaping in awe at the sights. He smiled to himself.

Then he looked down, at the area sea bed that he was hovering directly above. There was something half buried sticking out of it. And he knew what it was.

"Get out of the water!" he screamed into the intercom. "Bob, get everyone out of the water, Now! _Get out!_ All of you!" Frantically, he swam back to the surface. His tiredness had quite left him.

"What's wrong dude?" Bob asked urgently. "Everyone back to the boat! Doctor, what is it? What's happened?"

The Doctor splashed to the surface and scrambled back onto the boat. He was shaking like a leaf. "Not here..." he moaned to himself. "Not now..." Bob could see that he was close to tears. He lent down. "Tell me what's wrong." he said. All around them, the other divers were climbing back into the boat, confused and scared.

"We need the...we need the army down here." the Doctor gulped. "And tell them to bring UNIT. And a crane."

**Note: So sorry about the delay, been very busy recently.**

**PS: PAUL MCGANN!**


End file.
